13 November 2008

Malta Visit

One of the nice things about writing a blog that focuses on matters of the Venerable Order of St John is that most Governor-Generals of Commonwealth realms are high-ranking members of the Order. So whenever these people do something related to St John, it gives us something to write about. Australia is no exception, as Quentin Bryce is a Dame of Grace in the Australian Priory. The Prior in Australia is still the former Governor-General, Michael Jeffery, but there is no reason to believe that Ms. Bryce won't soon become the next (and first female) Prior.

Ms. Bryce is the focus of today's blog post because she will soon be visiting an ancient home of the Order. At the invitation of the president of Malta, Bryce will be paying a state visit to the island between 14 and 15 November. This is significant because Malta was once the home of Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM) --the Order from which the VOSJ descends. Though they are two separate Orders today, they still cooperate through, among other things, the Alliance of the Orders of St John of Jerusalem. We could not locate a good picture of either the current Prior of Australia, or Ms Bryce. Below, you can see an image of a modern Knight of Honour and Devotion of the SMOM.